My folks once took me to see Pinafore at the D’Oyly Carte during a family to London, I’d’ve been about 13 years old. They were astonished when I started singing along. The cultural breadth of the Simpsons can’t be overstated.
At least Gilbert and Sullivan weren’t afraid of some meta(/absurdist) humor of their own. Like the verse in the *Major-General Song* where the singer complains about how stupid H.M.S. Pinafore (the opera) is.
The funniest thing in Cape fear is that they did actually have that guy ride under the car. I thought legit that was only a Simpsons thing, when i saw it in the movie, I laughed so hard
It is an absurd concept if you take five seconds to think about it, but the way it’s introduced in context at the time exploited viewers refrigerator logic.
I can't watch *Who's on First?* without thinking about skinner going "Not the pronoun, but rather a player with the unlikely name of 'Who' is on first"
Years ago I saw an early recording of who’s on first. It was slower, easier for the audience to follow. All the recordings I’ve found since then is after they had done the bit thousands of times and involuntarily sped it way up
They filmed an official version in 1945 for a movie called The Naughty Nineties. Supposed to be the best version, but I've heard better. It is a bit weird because they filmed it without an audience laughing even though there is supposed to be an audience watching.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYOUFGfK4bU
And Costello accidentally broke a stage light 20 seconds in, but they kept on going. Which is extra weird because no one seems to have ever mentioned it in the history of the internet.
I watched 22 Short Films About Springfield before I had seen Pulp Fiction.
So I had a pretty inappropriate laugh when it got to THAT scene with Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames in the pawn shop.
That episode itself is a parody of [*Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Two_Short_Films_About_Glenn_Gould).
Damn I gotta watch more movies. This isn’t even an obscure reference lol. Like how’d I understand the Twin Peaks reference in the Simpsons before understanding a reference from the Fugitive? Lol
That's the secret. Every single line of the Simpsons is a reference. They know the future, man. It's just that most of the references HAVEN'T HAPPENED YET!
https://preview.redd.it/3n9g3qh8x0wc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd920f731d758806bbd174a59e3bee1d950bba08
Yes, well, to have a successful baseball club you need teamwork. Not some hot-dog admissions officer playing by his own rules!
I had seen so many parodies of the ending The Graduate that I was legitimately shocked how funny I found the original when I got around to watching it.
My friends were so annoyed that I laughed my way through The Shining when they showed it to me. I couldn’t believe how spit on the Simpsons version had been.
https://preview.redd.it/cadh1ydi31wc1.jpeg?width=220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f9fa712d5447612ec29eac279a7cb919bb1cc60
When I realized Gabbo was a reference to The Great Gabbo from 1929.
"Look, Smithers, Garbo is coming!"
Fun fact:
[The Spy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pujol_Garc%C3%ADa) that was crucial to selling the Nazis misinformation and disinformation prior to the D-day invasion was nicknamed "Garbo" (after Greta Garbo) because his handlers thought he was such a convincing actor.
He created a ton of fake contacts and agents (27 to be exact) and it eventually got to the point where the Nazis were funding an entirely fake spy network that he created.
He even faked the death one of his contacts (that didn't even exist) and got the Nazis to send him money for the fake agent's fake widow.
Bart Of Darkness was always and still is my favourite episode. I saw Rear Window during 2020 because I found out that was what it was based on. I couldn't help but think "That sinister looking kid is coming to kill me. HELP, HELP!"
I did a film studies class in high school. The teacher tried to show us rear window but had to deal with us primarily talking about when the simpsons got a pool and Bart broke his leg and spied on Flanders
https://preview.redd.it/ndh0eruk21wc1.jpeg?width=1462&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f16761314f2eb8151382dbf5f0a91efb07c372fd
Had no clue this was a real movie, thought it was just a weird ass episodes title since they’re no stranger to that
I like when Rex Banner gets the telegrams and the second one "Daisy had puppies" is a reference to (it's been a while and I don't feel like looking) "Fat Man and Little Boy" and a coded message about testing of the Manhatten Project is passed in similar fashion. Me and my best friend lost our shit when we had to watch the film in science class
It’s so wild that it took a post on this sub to make me realize that Streetcar wasn’t a musical. The post was someone realizing for the first time that *Planet of the Apes* wasn’t a musical and I thought “what a fucking idiot.” Top comment: “it might also surprise you to learn that *A Streetcar Named Desire* is also not a musical.” Suddenly the idiot pants switched butts.
I didn't realise that the softball song was a parody of the baseball song until I watched its always sunny when the gang beats boggs. Which is also wild both episodes had wade boggs
Lisa, what are you rebelling against?
Whaddya got?
I watched The Wild One (Marlon Brando) and had no idea it was a quote from that movie. Had a Leo pointing at the screen moment lol.
at some point in my life I will finally watch A Chorus Line, and when they sing One at the end, I will be thinking about the fog that turns you inside-out.
not a movie but when learning about WWII and Nazi occupation of France I saw a photo that looked very familiar.
[https://imgur.com/rdIqvBU](https://imgur.com/rdIqvBU)
Didn’t see Citizen Kane before watching a lot of the early Simpsons on DVD. It was cool getting the reference to tons of gags after, and definitely colored my view of the film.
I didn't even realize that Milhouse quote was from a movie and that's one of my favorite Simpsons lines to use irl lol. I saw the musical with Marge and Ned before I saw A Streetcar Named Desire and was confused waiting for them to start singing.
JFK is a farce of a movie when you start reading the actual facts; I think this bit is even funnier when you look at it that way (Jim Garrison was a q-anon level whackadoo and the JFK movie lionizes him so much it’s actually humorous).
The entirety of the movie Cape Fear.
Hey kids, wanna drive through that cactus patch?!?
Yes Yes No….
Two against one! 🌵🌵🌵🌵🚗💨
Surely there’s no harm in lying in the middle of a public street!
Not the elephants!
🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
I was just about to say: "NO TEAMSTERS!", but that was Krusty getting trampled.
[salutes Hannibal Barca]
FOR. CROSSING. THE. ALPS.
My favorite part of this scene is Homer throwing out his coffee because "it's too hot" rather than just letting it cool off over time.
Hahahahahaha That reminds me of Ron Burgundy throwing his burrito out his window because it was "too filling".
Especially Cape Fear but ESPECIALLY the entire score of the H.M.S. Pinafore
My folks once took me to see Pinafore at the D’Oyly Carte during a family to London, I’d’ve been about 13 years old. They were astonished when I started singing along. The cultural breadth of the Simpsons can’t be overstated.
I was in a production of that in college. One of the other chorus members and I quoted this episode endlessly.
At least Gilbert and Sullivan weren’t afraid of some meta(/absurdist) humor of their own. Like the verse in the *Major-General Song* where the singer complains about how stupid H.M.S. Pinafore (the opera) is.
I’ve been in Pirates of Penzance twice and this cracked everyone up every time. None of had ever done Pinafore, either.
What, never?
Hardly ever!
And turn and flex and shake and bounce
The funniest thing in Cape fear is that they did actually have that guy ride under the car. I thought legit that was only a Simpsons thing, when i saw it in the movie, I laughed so hard
It is an absurd concept if you take five seconds to think about it, but the way it’s introduced in context at the time exploited viewers refrigerator logic.
What he meant is that Cape Fear is actually a peninsula
... ... I think he's talking to you
I am in my 40s and still haven’t seen Cape Fear because I feel like I’ve seen it.
As a kid all the way through Planet of The Apes all I could think about is "Every ape I see, from chimpan-a to chimpanzee..."
The movie or the planet?
The brand new, multi million dollar, *musical!*
And you are starring... as the human.
its the part I was born to play!
Baby
Jeff Goldblum was a hidden gem in that episode
“He can talk! he can talk!” “I can SIIIIINNNNGGGG”
I swear I spent half the movie waiting for Charlton Heston to break out in song.
Wait until you watch Paint Your Wagon.
Wait, here comes Lee Marvin. Thank God. He’s always drunk and violent.
Oh, help me, Dr Zaius
I heard the Dr. Zaius song before I ever heard Rock Me Amadeus, so that was a fun revelation.
"Dr. Zaius! Dr. Zaius!"
"Can I play the piano anymore?" "Yes you can." "Well I couldn't before!"
Statue of Liberty…That was OUR planet!!
"DAMN YOU TO HELLLLLL!!!"
I can't watch *Who's on First?* without thinking about skinner going "Not the pronoun, but rather a player with the unlikely name of 'Who' is on first"
![gif](giphy|26vUOJ7yTuQxofK9O)
Seymour, you've managed to ruin a classic comedy sketch in 2 seconds.
Sexless freak
Everyone should re-watch [Who's on First](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIGRgmxRfiE)... it really is a masterpiece of comedy.
Not after Seymour ruined it!
Sexless freak!
Years ago I saw an early recording of who’s on first. It was slower, easier for the audience to follow. All the recordings I’ve found since then is after they had done the bit thousands of times and involuntarily sped it way up
They filmed an official version in 1945 for a movie called The Naughty Nineties. Supposed to be the best version, but I've heard better. It is a bit weird because they filmed it without an audience laughing even though there is supposed to be an audience watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYOUFGfK4bU And Costello accidentally broke a stage light 20 seconds in, but they kept on going. Which is extra weird because no one seems to have ever mentioned it in the history of the internet.
I’m old enough that Rainman ruined that bit for me before I knew it was a joke!
I watched 22 Short Films About Springfield before I had seen Pulp Fiction. So I had a pretty inappropriate laugh when it got to THAT scene with Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames in the pawn shop.
"looks like the spider got itself a couple of flies..."
"Hey, can my kid use your bathroom?"
You’ve gotta say yes!
Oh our transaction is complete, you may take the boy
We need to exchange insurance information
“Donuts! I got donuts!”
![gif](giphy|12lgtygcRIJ7Ww)
The best part about that scene is the car crashes into a mailbox which starts spewing out letters
Correct me if I’m wrong, but after that happens don’t kids come and dance and play in the letters as though it was a fire hydrant leaking water?
Yep. Because that’s what happens in the Pulp Fiction scene.
Don’t kids play in the mail fountain?
Do you think Ving Raymes was also singing, "Donuts, I've got donuts" as he crossed the street?
Wow, Wiggum having donuts in that scene was parallel to the actual movie. Pity both characters didn’t get to enjoy their treats.
Hey! I know you!
That episode itself is a parody of [*Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Two_Short_Films_About_Glenn_Gould).
"That sonata may have not been a Glenn Gould performance...But...I must say it was "Good as Gould"" *Homer intellectual laughter*
Same for me when I finally saw Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.
Daddy, what’s Zed doing to the large black man?
Zed’s dead, sweet pea. Zed’s dead.
Milhouse jumping from the dam drain all because Bart ratted him out to the fbi.
Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh *crack.... my glasses!
I’m telling ya, I didn’t do anything
I don’t care.
I don’t care. I think that line was spoken sounding more like mcgarnagle voice than a Tommy Lee jones impression.
Sounds more like jones to me https://youtu.be/8oCQXBkD1Fc?si=0_gsBjmYot1oTSIG
I don’t care.
I didn’t do anything! *I don’t care*🔫 I just rewatched that last night and the faraway shot so he’s only a tiny starfish falling gets me every time.
What movie is this scene referencing?
The Fugitive https://youtu.be/4sjEAX4iymo?si=5MDrAnfPIg3p_0Lk
I love that one of the top comments is "my glasses"
There is also a reference to The Fugitive in Who Shot Mr. Burns part 2 when Homer is in shackles shuffling away from the police wagon.
Yeah, and Moleman driving his Gremlin through the Paddy Wagon like the train in The Fugitive. Man, the 90s were just a simpler time. I miss them.
Actually it was Jasper with his lever brake. I'm not sure what kind of car.
Damn I gotta watch more movies. This isn’t even an obscure reference lol. Like how’d I understand the Twin Peaks reference in the Simpsons before understanding a reference from the Fugitive? Lol
The Fugitive is a great movie. Smart, classic action flick with great performances from both Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones
And features a convicted Chicago cop killer playing a Chicago cop!
And for a bonus, that scene from the fugitive is taken directly from the ending of He Walked by Night. Ends much worse for the guy in that one though.
“Hot stuff coming through” - The Boys in the Band(1970) I had no idea it was a reference at all
My mind is blown, that's actually a reference?!
Yup, except with lasagna instead of molten iron
...wait a minute, did Doug reference this as well
That's the secret. Every single line of the Simpsons is a reference. They know the future, man. It's just that most of the references HAVEN'T HAPPENED YET!
Mine, too. Is there anything that’s not a reference?
Come on Waylon, make Love to me the way you use too…… Noooo…. It’s that horrible Mr. burns isn’t it?…..
You leave Mr. Burns out of this!
Smithers! Smithers!
The perfect mash up of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Streetcar Named Desire.
Tennessee would be proud
He has the demented melancholy of a Tennessee Williams heroin
![gif](giphy|HYhp4V2Fpbmr6)
Maaaaaaarge? Yes Homie? Do-do-dodododododo-do-do..
I don’t think any of us expected him to say that
I love how upset everyone is while staring at Homer
I think I'll have some wine...
UHF used this one too
Sounds like you want to drink from the firehose
Sideshow Bob - 'No, you can't handle the truth.. no you truth handler you'.
I deride your truth-handling abilities!
Forget it Marge! It's Chinatown!
Not a film but I can't listen to Amnadeus by Falco without hearing "Doctor Zaius" in its place.
Can I play the piano anymore?
Of course you can.
Well I couldn't before
(Shocked expression) :O
This play has everything.
I only learned this year that it was a parody of a real song!
Check out some of Falco's other songs. He slaps. First white rapper!
https://preview.redd.it/3n9g3qh8x0wc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd920f731d758806bbd174a59e3bee1d950bba08 Yes, well, to have a successful baseball club you need teamwork. Not some hot-dog admissions officer playing by his own rules!
I'm giving you the beating of your life!
Smithers, dismember the corpse and send his widow a corsage.
What movie is this referencing?
The Untouchables
Untouchables with Kevin Costner
This scene is with Robert DeNiro, playing Al Capone, and beating the he'll out of one of his henchmen with a baseball bat because he wronged him
The end of The Graduate. “Hello Grandpa my old friend…”
I legit thought the Simpson writers had created the most beautiful song I’d ever heard until my dad clued me in haha
There are multiple Graduate references throughout the series
https://preview.redd.it/2xgi1wrud2wc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ca8f959bebc9404eb142d5762bb35449ee9f272
![gif](giphy|JJuPbsHN1Uhby) They even had the same actor
I had seen so many parodies of the ending The Graduate that I was legitimately shocked how funny I found the original when I got around to watching it.
The Shining...I knew most of the points of the movie years before ever watching it
Don't be readin' my mind between 4 and 5. That's Willie's time.
Shhhh, do ye wanna get sued
Hmm, that's odd, the blood's supposed to get off at the second floor.
Accchhhh….the little fat boy and his family are in trouble.
My friends were so annoyed that I laughed my way through The Shining when they showed it to me. I couldn’t believe how spit on the Simpsons version had been.
Yeah, I can't watch "The Shining" anymore. Simpsons totally ruined it for me.
https://preview.redd.it/cadh1ydi31wc1.jpeg?width=220&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f9fa712d5447612ec29eac279a7cb919bb1cc60 When I realized Gabbo was a reference to The Great Gabbo from 1929.
What’s this about Gabbo?
Must be some guy’s name. Some guy named Gabbo.
This ought to hold the little s.o.b.s
All the users on Reddit are SOBs.
"Look, Smithers, Garbo is coming!" Fun fact: [The Spy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pujol_Garc%C3%ADa) that was crucial to selling the Nazis misinformation and disinformation prior to the D-day invasion was nicknamed "Garbo" (after Greta Garbo) because his handlers thought he was such a convincing actor. He created a ton of fake contacts and agents (27 to be exact) and it eventually got to the point where the Nazis were funding an entirely fake spy network that he created. He even faked the death one of his contacts (that didn't even exist) and got the Nazis to send him money for the fake agent's fake widow.
Quiet Gabbo
"That sinister lookin' kid's comin' to kill me! Help! Help! Aaaahh! “
Bart Of Darkness was always and still is my favourite episode. I saw Rear Window during 2020 because I found out that was what it was based on. I couldn't help but think "That sinister looking kid is coming to kill me. HELP, HELP!"
My 2nd favourite movie parody. Number 1 being the flawless Fugitive parody when homer is arrested and wiggum flips the van while getting food.
Not the food, chief!
I did a film studies class in high school. The teacher tried to show us rear window but had to deal with us primarily talking about when the simpsons got a pool and Bart broke his leg and spied on Flanders
Much like Citizen Kane it's just a shitty takeoff of a classic Simpsons episode.
Or how the shower scene in psycho is a takeoff of when Maggie hit Homer with a hammer after watching itchy and scratchy
You have selected regicide!
https://preview.redd.it/ndh0eruk21wc1.jpeg?width=1462&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f16761314f2eb8151382dbf5f0a91efb07c372fd Had no clue this was a real movie, thought it was just a weird ass episodes title since they’re no stranger to that
https://i.redd.it/osywu1c051wc1.gif
The Clockwork Orange references. I saw them in the Simpsons first so when I watched the movie I just couldn’t
I just did a rematch of every season, there's a clockwork orange reference every 5 seasons like... well, clockwork.
https://i.redd.it/tk9ijg8xd1wc1.gif
I watched Space Odyssey: 2001 a couple weeks ago. It was just 2 and a half hours of Simpsons references.
https://preview.redd.it/i43c8ig4h1wc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00eaf2fc439174d0c35608700a705aa802ea69a0
Well, you might as well give me a ride home now
I learned they made a lot more references to Citizen Kane. I much preferred Smithers version of the song for Mr Burns
They also had the cane from Citizen Kane
Wait a minute….there’s no cane in Citizen Kane
Bur B-B-Bur Bur Buuuurrrrrns!
I like when Rex Banner gets the telegrams and the second one "Daisy had puppies" is a reference to (it's been a while and I don't feel like looking) "Fat Man and Little Boy" and a coded message about testing of the Manhatten Project is passed in similar fashion. Me and my best friend lost our shit when we had to watch the film in science class
"Say your prayers, plow boy!"
A whole lot of Citizen Kane. BoBo…
BRING BACK SHERIFF LOBO
When I was reading a Streetcar named Desire.
New Or-le-ans Home of pirates, drunks and whores New Or-le-ans Tacky overpriced souvenir stores
I spent most of my life thinking it was always just a musical.
It’s so wild that it took a post on this sub to make me realize that Streetcar wasn’t a musical. The post was someone realizing for the first time that *Planet of the Apes* wasn’t a musical and I thought “what a fucking idiot.” Top comment: “it might also surprise you to learn that *A Streetcar Named Desire* is also not a musical.” Suddenly the idiot pants switched butts.
"You're a dame, and I'm a fella!"
Whatcha doin, Stella?! You're puttin me through hella! Stella! STELLA!!
cant you hear me yellllaaaaaa!?
Milhouse: I swear! I didn’t do anything! Police: I don’t care
>Well, the kids have to learn about *TekWar* sooner or later. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TekWar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TekWar)
Mr Plow when Homer is driving over the rickety bridge to the music is directly from the movie “Sorcerer”.
https://i.redd.it/lobfv7f5b2wc1.gif
I didn't realise that the softball song was a parody of the baseball song until I watched its always sunny when the gang beats boggs. Which is also wild both episodes had wade boggs
R.i.p Wade Boggs 😔🕊️🫶
Do you mean Milpool______?
or maybe this : [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2GBloYQ36A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2GBloYQ36A)
I watched 2001 for the first time the other week and there were loads.
[check this](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnfwPTTiP7f-XHHk4hwypnupiMIzFzTm3&si=qTEWtbWhmH1EBtPQ) has the references with the scenes.
Lisa, what are you rebelling against? Whaddya got? I watched The Wild One (Marlon Brando) and had no idea it was a quote from that movie. Had a Leo pointing at the screen moment lol.
at some point in my life I will finally watch A Chorus Line, and when they sing One at the end, I will be thinking about the fog that turns you inside-out.
not a movie but when learning about WWII and Nazi occupation of France I saw a photo that looked very familiar. [https://imgur.com/rdIqvBU](https://imgur.com/rdIqvBU)
Didn’t see Citizen Kane before watching a lot of the early Simpsons on DVD. It was cool getting the reference to tons of gags after, and definitely colored my view of the film.
I had no idea that Trilogy of Error was one big homage to Run Lola Run until years later.
Back… And to the left… Back… And to the left…
I didn't even realize that Milhouse quote was from a movie and that's one of my favorite Simpsons lines to use irl lol. I saw the musical with Marge and Ned before I saw A Streetcar Named Desire and was confused waiting for them to start singing.
I recently watched "The Jazz Singer" (the original) and kept saying "I have no son!" whenever the rabbi was angry throughout the picture.
“Remember when I promised to eat you last? I lied” - McBain Reference to Commando. Love it.
JFK is a farce of a movie when you start reading the actual facts; I think this bit is even funnier when you look at it that way (Jim Garrison was a q-anon level whackadoo and the JFK movie lionizes him so much it’s actually humorous).
The entirety of the shining. 🙄 It’s ruined permanently for me.
Ruined.... or made better?